Star Trek: the London connection

Few TV or movie series have as loyal and global a following as Star Trek and this week's London release of the new film - Star Trek Into Darkness - is likely to bring thousands of our own Trekkies out into the light.

The new film is set partly in a futuristic London, which faces a terrorist attack on Shard-lookalike buildings at the hands of Star Trek's latest villain, played by Benedict Cumberbatch.

"The biggest challenge was Benedict's hair!" said JJ Abrams, director of Into the Darkness.

Apart from Sherlock's locks, Abrams' main concern was striking a balance between the demands of those legions of fans and the general cinema audience.

"I wanted to do the fans proud," he said.

"There are those fans of Star Trek who are very vocal and like things the way they were – we’ve all met them and I love and respect them because we wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for them – but we couldn’t make a movie just for those fans.”

If the fans think he's gone too far, there are plenty of Trekkie clubs and groups in London to meet up with and have a moan.

There's also the prospect of another Star Trek London convention, following the huge success of last year's event, when 18,000 turned up, many dressed in replica kit. No official confirmation yet, but hints have been dropped that the convention will return this year.